Finding a better night’s sleep through natural means

TCM relies upon the methodology that all forms of body disharmony, illness and disease are effectively treated by restoring harmony to the Qi along the energy meridians of your body, thus healing organs and body systems. This includes sleep disorders. We synergize the power of TCM with chiropractic to give your body a multi-dimensional support network. As it relates to sleep, there are two primary energy meridians that apply: one, which is responsible for the quality of sleep, and one which regulates proper timing and duration of sleep.

By balancing the bio-energy along these meridians, restful and restorative sleep can return to your life. I can also make recommendations pertaining to lifestyle habits and diet that could be affecting your sleep. The exact type of acupuncture treatment that will benefit you can only be determined through collaboration between the client and a licensed practitioner. We will determine the root cause of your sleep disturbance and create a plan that will improve your sleep quality.

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Acupuncture for back pain explained through a western medicine lens

Studies show that when acupuncture needles are inserted at specific points in the body, they stimulate a nervous system response- neurochemicals including endorphins are released in the brain, triggering a ripple effect of chemical and hormone release throughout the body, that in turn affects the spinal cord and the localized soft tissues. These chemicals change the way you perceive pain and help the body regulate its internal functioning; the resulting improvement in biomechanical balance is what TCM calls balancing the Qi. 

Making your body more capable of caring for itself 

For all these reasons, acupuncture should be a front line treatment. It should not be a last resort, when all other pain remedies have been tried and proven ineffective. It is most effectively used as a conservative, proactive approach to dealing with back pain and dysfunction. If you are interested in finding out more, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today.

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As one of Park Slope’s longest standing chiropractic and acupuncture practices, we are honored to continue our tradition of helping this community in our new office. This new, purpose-built space allows us to expand our services and staff to reach a greater portion of our great community. Between our senior staff members, we have over 100 years of collective experience across a wide range of specialities. The services we currently offer include:

• General chiropractic 
• Traditional Chinese Medicine and energy balance, including…
• …Acupuncture
• Chiropractic for seniors 
• Pregnancy chiropractic including post-partum chiropractic
• Acupuncture for infertility
• Nutrition and exercise counseling 
• Physiotherapy
• Therapeutic massage
• Homeopathy 

As you can see, we cover as many bases as we can in the conservative healthcare world. We are blessed to be able to do so because of our staff, which has recently grown larger with the addition of new doctors. On our home page, you can meet the newest members of our staff as well as discover an introductory video to our practice that explains why we are so excited about what we do. 

Everything we do is in support of your optimal health

We want to help you function and feel better, no matter what is holding you back. All of our modalities are designed to increase your natural range of motion, reduce tension in the various systems of your body and reestablish harmony as the predominant order.  It all begins with a conversation. If you have been struggling with physical or mental ailments and have not been finding the treatment you need with traditional medicine, please don’t hesitate to give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today. 

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Infertility is expensive

There are myriad treatments and options for a couple who are unable to conceive- from fertility drugs to IVF, you may be overwhelmed by choice; but many of these options are effectively out of reach because of their cost. Most people turn to acupuncture as a last resort, when in fact it makes sense to use it as a first resort. Acupuncture is cheaper, with little-to-no side-effects, and studies are consistently showing it to have great effect in randomized trials. Especially when used alongside traditional fertility treatments, acupuncture can greatly increase your chance of getting pregnant. But how?

How fertility acupuncture works

It comes down to stress. In both men and women, stress wreaks havoc with the systems that are responsible for balance and hormone distribution. A high-stress lifestyle, exacerbated by struggling with conceiving, contributes to:

• hormonal imbalance
• lower sperm counts and motility 
• partial ovulation
• spasms in the fallopian tubes and uterus

Acupuncture directly helps to lower stress levels by releasing endorphins in the brain. Further effects include increasing circulation to the reproductive organs and contributing to balance in the reproductive system of both men and women. 

Acupuncture for infertility in Park Slope

With trained staff and dedicated facilities, we are standing by to help you conceive and have the smoothest pregnancy possible. If you are interested in finding out more about how acupuncture can help you conceive, give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today. 

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Acupuncture helps us manage stress

At our new office in Park Slope, we are seeing more people come in complaining of chronic stress. Acupuncture offers an all-natural method for managing stress. Here’s how it works:

• By regulating Heart Rate Variability: a more objective measure of the effects of stress on your body and brain. A stable HRV directly influences the function of the nervous system. Which leads us to benefit #2…
• Balancing the Central Nervous System
• Increasing circulation to the brain to deliver the nutrients and oxygen your main muscle needs to thrive under stressful conditions. 
• Increasing natural energy levels and vitality to help you deal with stressful situations in a more sustainable manner. 

At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope, we want to use our expertise in natural healthcare to help our community live more balanced, less stressful lives. If you are interested in taking an active hand in manging your stress, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. 

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Benefits of acupuncture to the worker in you

Acupuncture is of enormous benefit to anyone who works 40+ hours a week; because these 40+ hours often tip the balance of your life toward stress, acupuncture goes about undoing this by treating the causative factors of stress at their source. The equation is a cycle: mental stress causes physical pain and physical pain causes mental stress. The body’s natural reaction to mental stress is to tighten; tension in the musculature then pulls your body out of alignment and causes physical symptoms like back pain, stiffness and aching.

Acupuncture works to reverse this cycle by increase blood circulation throughout the body, helping muscles repair and heal, while also helping to oxygenate and energize the brain which helps you cope with stressors more effectively. By boosting your immune system, acupuncture helps you ward off illnesses that come about when your body is worn down from to much stress. If you are interested in protecting your workplace wellness with acupuncture, give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today. 

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Acupuncture for insomnia

Acupuncture is an alternative therapy for insomnia in that it uses needles to stimulate points along given energy meridians. Our education is grounded in the wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine which has been treating insomnia in this manner for millenia; indeed, many western medicine practitioners are now recommending acupuncture as a natural sleep aid. Here is how it works:

• It makes you feel less anxious and more relaxed
• Improves sleep quality and duration
• Improving circulation, which helps oxygenate the brain, an organ that thrives on oxygen
• Relaxes muscles and reduces pain by producing natural painkillers like endorphins. 
• Increases the body’s natural production of melatonin

Indeed, acupuncture can have a dramatic effect on sleep quality and quantity. If you are interested in finding out more, give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today. 

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But laying down should help sciatica, right?

Clinically, the answer is yes: the act of reclining is decompressive in nature- it allows for space to open between the vertebrae, negating pressure that squeezes your discs and puts pressure on the nerves. But sciatica is not necessarily purely determined by impingement from problems with the vertebrae- it can also occur when muscles like the piriformis become overly-tight and push down on the nerve. So we can see that the first step to solving sciatica is to get a proper diagnosis. But what then? Sleeping with sciatica may require you to change your sleeping surface to a firmer, more supportive mattress; it may call for you to place a pillow under your knees to relieve tension in the lower spine. But neither of these is a long-term solution- they are designed to help you feel more comfortable so that you can get more sleep and wake up with less pain. The real solution is to find and address the cause of your sciatica.

 If your sciatica interferes with sleep, there are multiple steps we can take for treatment:

1. Number one is resolving spinal alignment issues that are putting pressure on the nerve. 
2. We then use massage acupuncture to relieve tightness from the surrounding musculature and augment the body’s natural healing process
3. We demonstrate easy-to-follow stretches that can be implemented in your pre and post-sleep routines. 
4. We show you when to use ice and heat to relieve pain, prevent inflammation and encourage healing. 

Defeating sciatic insomnia and the related problem of pronounced sciatic nerve pain in the morning is a long game. At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope, we are your sciatica resource and we will remain by your side for the long haul! Give our office a call to schedule an appointment today. 

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In the morning, focus on spinal elongation

No matter what your job is, the likelihood is high that your spine will undergo a lot of compression throughout the day. Sitting and standing, depending on your posture, each contribute varying degrees of downward pressure on your vertebrae and the discs which separate them. Starting your spine off on the right food means that you start the process of fighting against this compression from the word go, each and every day. Any morning routine that accounts for your back should include stretches that focus on spinal elongation and, by extension, decompression. Here is a little three minute routine that can set you off nicely: 

• Start by resting in child’s pose and welcoming the new day with deep breathing
• Next choose downward-facing dog, a gentle stretch that provides full spinal decompression
• Finish with cat and then cow stretch, two poses that alleviate pressure on the intervertebral discs

The benefits of starting your day with stretching are too good to ignore. These stretches will make getting through a full day of work easier, by boosting circulation, improving range of motion and alleviating tension from the musculature that supports your spine. As with any new exercise regime, you should always consult with a medical professional before beginning. We are standing by at our new office in Brooklyn to help you make your daily life more comfortable. 

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Acupuncture for improving flexibility in the hips

This study, published in the Medical Acupuncture journal, states that, “acupuncture application in acupoints and no-acupoints before exercises of static stretching can generate an acute significant increase on hip range of motion.” By combining targeted acupoint treatment with hip abductor stretching, we can effect great improvements in hip mobility, 

Making your hips work for you rather than against you

Just as tight hips can destabilize and cause pain, open hips can contribute to stability and strength at the base of the spine. By facilitating a healthy transfer of forces and initiating movements in a healthy manner, your hips can be become an all-star member of your spine’s support network. Acupuncture is one of the best ways to open up those hips and set you on the path toward reducing spinal tension- if you are interested in finding out more about the power of acupuncture, give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today. 

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